Change keg and running out of gas...

[GraniteRiverBrewing]

I had a keg and the gas gauge never moved..I just swapped a keg and in one day it almost emptied. What do I do??

BTW, it happened in one day...

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Did you check for leaks?

 

[GraniteRiverBrewing]

I have a two tap system. Maybe that side has a leak. How do you check a leak on a keg? Or maybe it's the gas line...

 

[BarleyWater]

I have a two tap system. Maybe that side has a leak. How do you check a leak on a keg? Or maybe it's the gas line...

Douse it with star san, where you see bubbles, you have a leak.

 

[jtvinny]

It seems that most of my leaks occur at the pressure release valve. I have seen replacement tappets for the in and out valves but never a pressure release replacement. Has anyone else had this problem? What was your solution? I go through gas like crazy and don't even keep it hooked up now- flat beer gets old...

 

[jonp9576]

everywhere there is a connection from the tank valve, to the keg, to the tap, there could be a leak. even if you did not remove it when you changed the keg, it could be leaking not. you can also use children's bubbles. they work very well as a leak check

 

[Fingers]

The gauge isn't an indicator of the amount of gas remaining. The liquid gas will vaporize to maintain head pressure until all the liquid is gone and then the pressure drops rapidly. What happened to you is normal.

 

[Evan!]

The gauge isn't an indicator of the amount of gas remaining. The liquid gas will vaporize to maintain head pressure until all the liquid is gone and then the pressure drops rapidly. What happened to you is normal.

unless he actually has a leak, which is possible. It's very hard to tell sometimes...whether it's a leak or whether you just ran out of gas because you dumped a bunch of CO2 into a new keg.

I second the starsan/soapy water test. Personally, I just emptied a half full co2 tank last night because I had my sparkling water turned up to 50psi...which, apparently, is the threshold for my regulator check valve FOund out where the gas was coming out by spraying soapy water. So, to the OP: IIWY, when you get your tank refilled and hook it back up, I'd definitely spray starsan around all your connections, on the regulator, on the hoses, disconnects, keg O-rings, release valves, etc., just to be absolutely sure. There's a good chance that fingers is right, but just to be on the safe side, I'd test it.